Study Guide Early India And China

Noah Swan

People We Need To Know:

India:
Siddhartha Gautama The Buddha: 563 483 B.C.E
Born a prince, he saw suffering and went on a long walk to
meditate. In his meditation, he came to a few conclusions about
life. In Buddhism, these are known as the Four Noble Truths
1. Life Is Suffering
2. Suffering Is Caused By Desire
3. The Way To End Suffering Is To End Desire
4. To End Desire Follow The Middle Path (Eight-Fold Path)
His followers were known as Buddhists, as he took the name
Buddha, meaning The Enlightened One.
Chandragupta Maurya Founder Of The Mauryan Empire
Founder of the Mauryan Empire, Chandragupta Maurya saw
what Alexander the Great had done and strived to create an
empire like his. All we know is that his rule was very militaristic
and strict.
Asoka Chandragupta Mauryas Grandson
Considered by many to be the best ruler in the history of
India, Asoka started his life as a very strict ruler, but upon seeing
a battlefield littered with corpses, he realized the harm that war
could do, and devoted his life to Buddhism and the concept of
Ahimsa, or non-violent rule. He was kind to his subject,
establishing hospitals and places foe travelers to stay.
Candra Gupta Founder of the Gupta Empire
Naming himself after the great Chandragupta Maurya,
Candra Gupta founded the Gupta Empire after the downfall of the
Kushan Empire before him. Not much is known about him other
then the fact that he founded this empire and was a good ruler.
Sandra Gupta Candra Guptas Grandsn
Not much is known about him, but we know that he was a
good ruler, and that his rule is when there was a lot of trade
between the cultures in India. Hinduism became the religion of
the majority of people under his rule.

China:
Yu First Ruler In Recorded History
The founder of the Xia Dynasty, Yu was a legendary ruler
that was the first person to establish a dynasty in China. Legend
has it that he helped the people through a time of a great flood,
and that is why he became ruler.

Die Last Ruler In Xia Dynasty

According to members of the Shang Dynasty (The dynasty
immediately following his departure of the throne,) Die was an
evil ruler that deserved to be overthrown. This is why a new
dynasty was created when he died.
Confucius Founder of Confucianism 551 B.C.E - ???
A lower scale government worker in life, Confucius was
born to a middle-class family in 551 B.C.E, in the middle of the
Warring States Period, a span of around 150 years where there
was no cohesive government. He had many ideas about the
world around him as he saw it, and eventually people started to
believe that they were true, following him wherever he went
hand writing down his sayings in the analects.
Laozi Supposed Founder Of Taoism
Laozi is a quasi-mythological figure that is best known for
being the founder of Taoism. There are many legends about who
he was as a person, but he is supposedly the author of the Tao Te
Ching, the defining literature on Taoism.
Qin Shihunagdi Founder of Qin Dynasty - ??? 210 B.C.E
Qin Shihuangdi was the founder of the Qin Dynasty. After
unifying China at the end of the warring states period, he
imposed a very strict mindset that came to be known as
legalism. In this set of ideals, there are very harsh punishments
for breaking the law, and laws are at the center of the
government. Alongside this very harsh mindset, he banned all
art, destroyed books that said anything against legalism, and by
doing this made sure he had no opposition to the throne. He also
standardized the weight and writing systems for China and

outlawed weapons. He dies in 210 B.C.E, and he is buried

alongside what we know as the Terracotta Army
Liu Bang Gaozu Founder Of The Han Dynasty
Liu Bang, also known by his formal name, Gaozu, was the
first emperor of the Han Dynasty. After the end of the Qin
Dynasty in 206 B.C.E, he took over, keeping a large amount of
the measure that the Qin Dynasty had put in place, such as the
language, weights, and roads, but as opposed to legalism, the
Han Dynastys defining social policy was Confucianism. The
government under his rule also controlled all of the salt and iron
in the land in the attempt to curb any potential revolution and
insuring that the people were dependent on the government to
function properly.
Wudi Han Emperor Responsible For Expansion
Wudi, a Han emperor, is responsible for vastly expanding
Chinas territory along the Silk Road, a network of trade that
extended from Rome on the West to China in the East.

Concepts And Ideas That We Need To Know

India
Hinduism
Caste System The Caste System is an idea that there are different
social levels, or Castes that govern how you live. There are four main
castes in ancient Indian society. They are, in order from higest to
smallest:
Brahmins Priests
Ksatriya Warriors/Kings
Vaishya Merchants/Skilled Workers
Sudra Laborers
Reincarnation The idea of reincarnation states that people live many
lives in their time on this earth. The caste system is complementary to
this belief as it says that if you live a good live, a force will propel you

to a higher caste in your next life. If you live a mean life, you will be
pushed down a level.
Dharma Your religious duty to the gods.
Karma The force that propels you to higher or lower castes upon
reincarnation.
Buddhism
Nirvana Buddhism is complementary to Hinduism in the sense that
they both believe in reincarnation. Nirvana is the physical state that
one can achieve upon living a good life. When Nirvana is achieved, one
get attain what is described as a release from the circle of life.
Four Noble Truths In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths are the result of
the Buddhas long meditation, and they are the principles upon which
the religion is based. They are:
1. Life Is Suffering
2. Suffering Is Caused By Desire
3. The Way To End Suffering Is To End Desire
4. To End Desire, Follow The Middle Path (Eight-Fold Path)
The Eightfold Path The last step in the Four Noble Truths, the
eightfold path outlines the best way to live your life. It is:
1. Right understanding: Understanding that the Four Noble
Truths are noble and true.
2. Right thought: Determining and resolving to practice Buddhist
faith.
3. Right speech: Avoiding slander, gossip, lying, and all forms of
untrue and abusive speech.
4. Right conduct: Adhering to the idea of nonviolence (ahimsa),
as well as refraining from any form of stealing or sexual
impropriety.
5. Right means of making a living: Not slaughtering animals or
working at jobs that force you to violate others.
6. Right mental attitude or effort: Avoiding negative thoughts
and emotions, such as anger and jealousy.
7. Right mindfulness: Having a clear sense of ones mental state
and bodily health and feelings.
8. Right concentration: Using meditation to reach the highest
level of enlightenment.
This Previous Text Is From - http://www.dummies.com/howto/content/the-eightfold-path-of-buddhism.html

Other Indian Ideas

Ahimsa Non-Violent Rule. Its as simple as that.

China
Confucianism
General Information In Confucianism, there is a focus of human behavior,
not a spiritual focus, like Hinduism or Buddhism. They believe that humans,
by nature, are good, and dont need motivation to do good other then that it
is the Right thing to do.
Five Constant Relationships In Confucianism, there are five relationships
that govern all interactions between people. They are:
a. Parent/Child
b. Ruler/Subject
c. Older/Younger Sibling
d. Older/Younger Friend
e. Husband/Wife
Ideas On Government In Confucianism, the idea on government, like the
rest of the philosophy, is fairly simple. Leaders should rule by merit, and
merit only. The king shuld also have the best interests of his subjects in mind.
Thats it

Taoism
General Information In Taoism, all that you are trying to do is follow
The Tao or the way.
Principles Of The Tao According to the Tao, the best route of action is
inaction. You are supposed to do the minimum required, and in this
way, if you never take risks, you will never fail.
Legalism
General Information In Legalism, the mindset is very harsh. Founded
during the Qin Dynasty. Legalism states that humans are by nature,
evil, and need harsh laws to control them.
Principles Of Legalism The principles of Legalism are that if there are
very harsh punishments for breaking the law, and the law is
incessantly enforced, no one will do evil, as they would be scared of
the punishments. The law must be consistent and applied equally, and
punishments severe.

Other Chinese Ideas

Ancestor Worship The Ancient Chinese held their deceased ancestors
in the highest regard, as they felt that they were connected to a higher
power and could communicate with a higher power.
The Mandate Of Heaven The Mandate of Heaven is the idea of who
has the right to rule. The people believe that it can be lost, and, as the
victor is the one that gets to write history, is always in the hands of the
current ruler, until he is overthrown, at which point the new ruler has it.
This cycle is known as the dynastic cycle.

Empires/Dynasties We Need To Know/Important Points In

History
India
Indus River Valley Civilizations
- Capital At Mohenjo Daro
- Writing is not deciphered yet
- Flourished As A Civilization
- No One Knows Why It Declined
Aryan Invasion
- Aryans invaded from the North-West, through the Khyber Pass
- Pushed the native people out of the way, and ingrained
themselves in the Indian culture.
- One of the few good things that they did was establish
Sanskrit as the written language, which is something we can
decipher.
Mauryan Empire 322 155 B.C.E.
- Founded by Chandragupta Maurya
- In The Wake Of Alexander The Great
- Lots Of Different Ideas
- First Great Indian Empire
- Asoka Was Mauryan
- Capital At Pataliputra

Kushan Empire
- The Kushans were originally from Bactria, but the conquered
Northern India through the Khyber Pass.
- Many Religions Flourished Under The Rule Of The Kushans
- Their empire also was on the Silk Road, a network of trade
stretching from Europe to China. This enabled trade to
flourish, not only of physical object, but of ideas.
Gupta Empire
- Founded in about 300 CE by Chandra Gupta, the Guptas were
a short lives Empire of only around 100 years. They were
Hindu in their religion, and we talked about two of their rulers,
Candra Gupta and Sandra Gupta, but there isnt much else
about them.

China
Xia Dynasty 2200 1750 B.C.E
- There isnt that much known about the Xia Dynasty, but we
know that they were the very first Chinese Dynasty, and they
had two rulers that we learned about, Yu and Die. The Shang
eventually overthrew them.
Shang Dynasty 1750 1045 B.C.E
- The longest of all of the Chinese Dynasties, the Shang was a
relatively peaceful Dynasty with its capital at Anyang. They
had a large aristocracy, but that is all we need to know.
Zhou Dynasty 1045 256 B.C.E
- The Zhou Dynasty can be broken up into three separate
periods.
o The Western Zhou 1045 771 B.C.E.
The Capital was at Xian, which is farther west
then it had ever been before in Chinas history.
This led to incread pressure from the Mongols,
causing them to move further east in 771 B.C.E
o The Eastern Zhou 771 256 B.C.E
With the Capital at Luoyang, it was much more
peaceful. But, after around 350 years, it gave way
to what is known as the warring states period.
o Warring States Period 400 256 B.C.E.

In this period, there was no real leader, simply lots

of smaller princes and warlords that were fighting
over power.

Qin Dynasty 221 206 B.C.E.

- This dynasty was founded by Qin Shihuangdi, who unified
China at the end of the warring states period in 221 B.C.E. He
implements a harsh legalist policy, and established 40
provinces that are all governed by people that he appoints to
do so. His dynasty only lasts 15 years, though. After his death
his son attempts to seize power, but the people do not think
he has the mandate of heaven, so a new dynasty takes over.
Han Dynasty 206 B.C.E. 220 C.E.
- This dynasty is founded by Gaozu, who leads China out of the
oppressive rule of the Qin dynasty and into a new age of
productivity. He keeps a lot of the minutia that the Qin
established (language, roads, weights, provinces) but they
change the core philosophy from legalism to Taoism. They
expanded upon the Silk Road during the reign of Wudi, a later
emperor. This expansion caused culture to flourish during this
time. There was a recovery of the old Confucian texts that
were destroyed during the Qin, Buddhism spreads, technology
gets more advanced, and even a new form of Taoism takes
hold.

Documents We Should Know

India
Laws Of Manu
Central Philosophy Hinduism
The laws of Manu describe the different rights that each caste held,
and also outlined all of the laws in that time. In describe who could and
could not do what.
Buddhism And Equality
Central Philosophy Buddhism

Buddhism and Equality describes a conversation between the Buddha

and a student in which he explains that all castes are equal to a
scholar but does it in a way in which the scholar come to that
understanding by his own reasoning. It shows that Buddhism and
Hinduism can be complementary, but shows that they contradict each
other as far as the caste system is concerned.

China
The Book Of Documents
Central Philosophy The Mandate Of Heaven
In this section from the Human Record, the Mandate Of Heaven is
explained to us at depth. It is attributed to the Xia Dynasty but actually
written by the Shang.
The Analects Of Confucius
Central Philosophy Confucianism
In this document we are shown a passage from Confuciuss Analects.
We are taught about his views on values, relationships, religion, and
government.
Tao Te Ching
Central Philosophy Taoism
This is the defining document of Taoism. It was supposedly written by
Laozi, the founder of Taoism. It teaches us that less is more in the
sense that the minimum is the best thing to do.
The Writings Of Han Fei
Central Philosophy Legalism
The writings of Han Fei are a description of how to run an efficient
country. It shows some of the core principles of Legalism and explains
that people are by nature evil and need to be governed harshly.
Qin Penal Laws
Central Philosophy Legalism
The Qin Penal Laws are the legal code of the Qin Dynasty. They are
extremely specific, and always harsh in their determining of who
becomes a convict laborer and whatnot. It illustrates how harsh the law
was in the legalist Qin Dynasty.
Lessons For Women
Central Philosophy Legalism
This document is from the perspective of a well-educated women, but
in essence in explains that you must do what everyone around you
days. In Ancient China, it seems that women had few right and this

document explains what is expected of them, almost as advice for

women to come.

Geography
India

Indias geography is very varied. Surrounded by mountains, one of the

few passes in is the Khyber Pass, It also has many rivers running
through it, such as the Indus and Ganges. In the middle of India, there
is the Deccan Plateau. There are also monsoon winds, seasonal winds
that have a consistent pattern. These enable trade with Africa across
the Indian Ocean very easily.

China
In the East of China there is fertile soil, while in the west there are
mountains and deserts. There are also two major rivers that flow
through China. The Yellow River, or Huang He, and the Yangtze River,
or Chang Jiang. In the south, the main crop is rice, while in the north,
the main crop is is wheat.